LyricMeaning

B Movie
Gil Scott-Heron

Well, the first thing I want to say is: Mandate my ass!”

Because it seems as though we've been convinced that 26% of the registered voters, not even 26% of the American people, but 26% of the registered voters form a mandate or a landslide. 21% voted for Skippy and 3, 4% voted for somebody else who might have been running.

But, oh yeah, I remember. In this year that we have now declared the year from Shogun to Reagan, I remember what I said about Reagan, I meant it. Acted like an actor. Hollyweird. Acted like a liberal. Acted like General Franco when he acted like governor of California, then he acted like a Republican. Then he acted like somebody was going to vote for him for president. And now we act like 26% of the registered voters is actually a mandate. We're all actors in this I suppose.

What has happened is that in the last 20 years, America has changed from a producer to a consumer. And all consumers know that when the producer names the tune, the consumer has got to dance. That's the way it is. We used to be a producer – very inflexible at that, and now we are consumers and, finding it difficult to understand. Natural resources and minerals will change your world. The Arabs used to be in the 3rd World. They have bought the 2nd World and put a firm down payment on the 1st one. Controlling your resources we'll control your world. This country has been surprised by the way the world looks now. They don't know if they want to be Matt Dillon or Bob Dylan. They don't know if they want to be diplomats or continue the same policy - of nuclear nightmare diplomacy. John Foster Dulles ain't nothing but the name of an airport now.

The idea concerns the fact that this country wants nostalgia. They want to go back as far as they can – even if it's only as far as last week. Not to face now or tomorrow, but to face backwards. And yesterday was the day of our cinema heroes riding to the rescue at the last possible moment. The day of the man in the white hat or the man on the white horse - or the man who always came to save America at the last moment – someone always came to save America at the last moment – especially in “B” movies. And when America found itself having a hard time facing the future, they looked for people like John Wayne. But since John Wayne was no longer available, they settled for Ronald Reagan and it has placed us in a situation that we can only look at –like a “B” movie.

Come with us back to those inglorious days when heroes weren't zeros. Before fair was square. When the cavalry came straight away and all-American men were like Hemingway to the days of the wondrous “B” movie. The producer underwritten by all the millionaires necessary will be Casper “The Defensive” Weinberger – no more animated choice is available. The director will be Attila the Haig, running around frantically declaring himself in control and in charge. The ultimate realization of the inmates taking over at the asylum. The screenplay will be adapted from the book called “Voodoo Economics” by George “Papa Doc” Bush. Music by the “Village People” the very military Macho Man.

“Company!!!”
“Macho, macho man!”
“Two-three-four.”
“He likes to be – well, you get the point.”
“Huuut! Your left! Your left! Your left, right, left, right, left, right…!”

A theme song for saber-rallying and selling wars door-to-door. Remember, we're looking for the closest thing we can find to John Wayne. Clichés abound like kangaroos – courtesy of some spaced out Marlin Perkins, a Reagan contemporary. Clichés like, “itchy trigger finger” and “tall in the saddle” and “riding off or on into the sunset.” Clichés like, “Get off of my planet by sundown!” More so than clichés like, “he died with his boots on.” Marine tough the man is. Bogart tough the man is. Cagney tough the man is. Hollywood tough the man is. Cheap stick tough. And Bonzo's substantial. The ultimate in synthetic selling: A Madison Avenue masterpiece – a miracle – a cotton-candy politician…Presto! Macho!

“Macho, macho man!”

Put your orders in America. And quick as Kodak your leaders duplicate with the accent being on the nukes - cause all of a sudden we have fallen prey to selective amnesia - remembering what we want to remember and forgetting what we choose to forget. All of a sudden, the man who called for a blood bath on our college campuses is supposed to be Dudley “God-damn” Do-Right?

“You go give them liberals hell Ronnie.” That was the mandate. To the new “Captain Bly” on the new ship of fools. It was doubtlessly based on his chameleon performance of the past - as a liberal democrat – as the head of the Studio Actor's Guild. When other celluloid saviors were cringing in terror from McCarthy – Ron stood tall. It goes all the way back from Hollywood to hillbilly. From liberal to libelous, from “Bonzo” to Birch idol, born again. Civil rights, women's rights, gay rights…it's all wrong. Call in the cavalry to disrupt this perception of freedom gone wild. God damn it, first one wants freedom, then the whole damn world wants freedom.

Nostalgia, that's what we want… The good ol' days when we gave'em hell? When the buck stopped somewhere and you could still buy something with it. To a time when movies were in black and white – and so was everything else. Even if we go back to the campaign trail, before six-gun Ron shot off his face and developed hoof-in-mouth. Before the free press went down before full-court press. And were reluctant to review the menu because they knew the only thing available was – Crow.

Lon Chaney, our man of a thousand faces - no match for Ron. Doug Henning does the make-up - special effects from Grecian Formula 16 and Crazy Glue. Transportation furnished by the David Rockefeller of Remote Control Company. Their slogan is, “Why wait for 1984? You can panic now...and avoid the rush.”

So much for the good news…

As Wall Street goes, so goes the nation. And here's a look at the closing numbers – racism's up, human rights are down, peace is shaky, war items are hot - the House claims all ties. Jobs are down, money is scarce – and common sense is at an all-time low on heavy trading. Movies were looking better than ever and now no one is looking because, we're starring in a “B” movie. And we would rather had John Wayne. We would rather had John Wayne.

You don't need to be in no hurry.
You ain't never really got to worry.
And you don't need to check on how you feel.
Just keep repeating that none of this is real.
And if you're sensing, that something's wrong,
Well just remember, that it won't be too long
Before the director cuts the scene. yea.

“This ain't really your life,
Ain't really your life,
Ain't really ain't nothing but a movie.”

“This ain't really your life,
Ain't really your life,
Ain't really ain't nothing but a movie.”


  Purchase "B Movie"   Purchase Entire Album   Email Video to Friends   Play Youtube "B Movie" Video   Play Spotify "B Movie" Song   View Wikipedia "B Movie" Entry   Receive Emails for Future Gil Scott-Heron Lyrics

Email:

  Link to "B Movie"   Share on Facebook, Twitter, and more
  See Recommended Lyrics For You

Loading...

Lyrics by Gil Scott-Heron

  17th Street   1980   A Prayer For Everybody / To Be Free   A Sign Of The Ages   A Very Precious Time   Angel Dust   Angola, Louisiana   Billy Green Is Dead   Bottle   Bottle lyrics   Brother   Combinations   Did You Hear What They Said?   Free Will   Free Will [Alternate Take]   Free Will [Breakdown Takes]   Get out of the Ghetto Blues   Gun   H20Gate Blues   Lady Day & John Coltrane   Lady Day and Coltrane   Message to the Messengers   No Knock   No Knock [Alternate Take]   Or Down You Fall   Save The Children   Save the Children [Live]   Sex Education, Ghetto Style   Sex Education: Ghetto Style   The Bottle   The Bottle [Live]   The Get out of the Ghetto Blues   The Middle Of Your Day   The Revolution Will Not Be Televised [Early Versio...   The Vulture   The Vultures   We Almost Lost Detroit   When You Are Who You Are   Where Did The Night Go?   Whitey on the Moon

Related Songs

  B Movie - Elvis Costello  B-Movie - Lali Puna  B Movie - Delbert Mcclinton  B movie star - Beyond City Lights  Nowhere Girl - B-movie  My Ship Of Dreams - B-movie  Remembrance Day - B-movie  A Letter from Afar - B-movie  Marilyn Dreams - B-movie  Nowhere Girl [Album Version] - B-movie  Nowhere Girl - B-Movie  Nowhere Girl - B Movie  Switch On - Switch Off - B-Movie  To The Ends Of The Earth - B-Movie  My Old Friend Loneliness - B-Movie  Other People's Lives - B-Movie  The Age Of Illusion - B-Movie  She's A Car Crash - B-Movie  It's a B-Movie - Van Dyke Parks  B Movie Saga - The Fratellis  B-Movie Scream Queen - Murderdolls  You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar, But I…...  You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar, But I Feel Like ...  B Movie (feat. D1 & P Blackk) - copywrite.inc  You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar, But I Feel Like...  Like Zsa Zsa Zsa Gabor - Erasure  You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar But I Feel Like A...  Millionaire (ost. Triple X (xXx))...  Elstree - Buggles  B-Movie Boxcar Blues - Delbert McClinton  Legacy - Cold 187um  Flash - Ray Rizzy  Bow Down (Remix) - Haitian Fresh  Bust Me Down - Hard 2 Obtain  Hip Hop [Instrumental] - Dead Prez  Rxn - IAM  La Methode Marsimil - IAM  Movie’s Over - Block B  I've Seen That Movie Too - Elton John  Paper Chaser - G-Unit  Millionaire - Queens Of The Stone Age  Tv Movie - Bruce Springsteen  Trivial Things - East River Pipe  Ernie Writes A Story - Sesame Street  Queen B - Narsha  P & B - Agnetha Faltskog  Like Zsa Zsa Gabor - Erasure  Turn It Into Hate - Graham Parker  All I Need - The Game  B Movie Box Car Blues - Blues Brothers  'b' Movie Box Car Blues - Blues Brothers  B Movie Box Car Blues - Blues Brothers, The  Hancho - Lil B  Everybody Makes Mistakes - Lacy J. Dalton  Boredom - Buzzcocks  Let\u2019s Make A Movie - Danny Fernandes  About Prince - Graffiti Bridge - Prince  Murder One - I-20  Song For The Asking - The Church  All About My Money - French Montana  It's So Nice To Be Rich - Agnetha Faltskog  U.B.C.L. - MNDR  How About You - Frank Sinatra  About Prince - Sign 'O' The Times - Prince  Shout Louder Than A Groupie - Avias  About Prince And The Revolution - Parade / Under T...  Paging Dr Moon Or Gun - Themselves  Forever Harlem - Juelz Santana  Scarface Nigga - Roc Marciano  Mack Down - Tyga  Blackened Dove - Dust to Dust  Movie - Llama Farmers  movie - His Name Is Alive  Movie - Aerosmith  Movie - Sponge Cola  Movie - Busta Rhymes  Movie - Xzibit  Movie - Soulja Boy  Movie - Hoodie Allen  Movie - Paddy Kelly  Movie [*] - Chris Brown  Movie - Jay Sean  Movie - Lil Mo  Movie - Lil Mouse   Movie - Spongecola  Movie - Doors  Movie - Chip Tha Ripper  Movie - Gorilla Zoe  Movie - Dawn Richard  Movie - Arco  Movie - Chris Brown  Movie - The Birthday Massacre  As Good As It Gets - Social Code  PPG - Soulja Boy  Ode to Antidote - Rufus Wainwright  Caroline - Amine  Cliches of the World (B Movie) - The Kinks  Cliches of the World (B Movie) - The Kinks  Cliches Of The World (B Movie) - kinks  Living In A Movie - Enchant  Ocean Gang Splash - Soulja Boy  Black President - Rudimentary Peni  Gucci Gucci (Freestyle) - Lil Wayne  X, y, & Zee - Pop Will Eat Itself  Dreamer - Wiz Khalifa  Make A Movie - Plies  Big Money - The Game  Big Money - Game  Rock N Roll - Swizz Beatz  This isn't Real - Ultra Vivid Scene  Sad Cunt - Creatures, The  Running - inbal dimri  Love T-Raww - Tyga  1979 - Hilltop Hoods  Halloween H2O - Lil B  Loyal - Keyshia Cole  Rock And Roll - G. Love & Special Sauce  Rock & Roll (Shouts Out Back To The Rappers)...  Murder For Hire - Mr. Mister  Jane - Whitehorse  Jane - Whitehorse  Miss Money Penny - Placebo  Love Me - Soulja Boy  Bad Girl (ft. Chris Brown) - Rihanna  I'm the best - Nicki Minaj  Leni Riefenstahl at the End of Time...  Cali Dreamin' - Kid Ink  Lock And Load - Lil Wayne  Yass Bitch - Nicki Minaj  As If - Indica  Sweethearts" - Camper Van Beethoven  Living Inside My Heart - Bob Seger  Sweethearts\" - Camper Van Beethoven  Where Ya Panties At - USDA  B..B..B..Bklyn - Wang Chung  You're A Movie - Alice Cooper  Futuristic Funk - Mac Miller  I Took Her - Lil Wayne  I Did It All - Tracy Chapman  Maria Maria (Feat. The Product G&B) - Santana  Maria Maria - Wyclef Jean  Reset - Curren$y  Er Ist Wie Ein Fluß - Ina Deter  Dirty Money Hello Good Morning featuring Diddy, Ri...  Arrival - W.A.L.E.  Bass For Your Face - Lil' B  Base For Your Face - Lil' B  Moviestar - Harpo  Moviestar - Stereo Total  Riding with a Movie Star - L7  Beautiful Dancer* - New Boyz  Don't Kill My Vibe - The Game  Dinner & a Movie - Phish  Movie Star - And One  Sci Fi Movie Night! - Bogsey and the Argonauts  Gumar Oz Dubar - Capone-N-Noreaga  Witness - Clams Casino feat. Lil B  Witness - Clams Casino  Based 4 Ya Face - Lil B  Movie Star - Harpo  Movie Star - And One  Lost and Found - Absent Kid  Plans - The Thrills  Two One Two - Smoke DZA  Downtown - B-52's, The  Ya Hair - R. Kelly  Pull Your Hair - R. Kelly  Ya Hair - R Kelly  Pull Your Hair - R Kelly  No Pad No Pen - Soulja Boy  Hello (Remix) - Rick Ross  Hello Good Morning Remix - Dirty Money  He Took Her To A Movie - Ladytron  Horror Movie - Skyhooks  Monster Movie - American Werewolves  Movie Klip - Nephew  Movie scene - Danger::Radio  Pale Movie - Saint Etienne  movie queen - Jobriath  Movie Scene - Danger: Radio  Movie Monster - Sound Team  Movie Scene - Fu-Schnickens  Movie Night - The Lonely Hearts  Movie Song - HeyHiHello!  Movie Screen - Chelsea Wolfe  Western Movie - The Olympics  Movie Man - The Osmonds  Movie Star - Tokyo Blade  Blue Movie - Mika  Movie Magg - Paul McCartney  Silent Movie - Stickshift Rocketship  Movie Star - Cracker  Good Movie - Greg Laswell  Road Movie - Asian Kung-Fu Generation  The Movie - Tom Waits  Movie Kisses - Thea Gilmore  Movie Night - Lemon Demon  Movie Star - Roisin Murphy  Boogie Movie - Mcnamara  Daughter Movie - The Blue Aeroplanes
  Please consider supporting this site by Clicking Here and Bookmarking whenever you search and shop Amazon. It costs you nothing but it supports us and gives us credit and we appreciate it greatly.